Weekly News of Providence Presbytery VOL. 11 ISSUE 03 WEEK OF 1.26.2015 From the Presbytery Prayer Calendar Quick Links February 1 —Mt. Pleasant, Chester, SC (52 members) Our Website PC(USA) Mission Apostle Bethelwoods Ministers AND Educators Forum Brown Bag Lunch 10AM-1PM Tomorrow January 27, 2015 “Reclaiming the Middle in an Increasingly Polarized Church” With Mark Tidsworth Let Inez Know you are coming Resource Center Find Us Please Plan to Attend February 22 Listening Session Barbara Brown Taylor to speak at Anderson School of Theology for Laypersons (Anderson, SC) in February. Religious pluralism is a fact of life. People of other faiths no longer exist somewhere else in the world; they live next door, raising the question of how we will decide to live with religious difference. Can we afford to base our answers on the worst-case scenarios we see in the news, or is there another way? Holy Envy: An Antidote to Fearing the Religious Stranger will be the topic of two Barbara Brown Taylor discussions next month in Anderson, SC. Presentations will be entitled “Who Is My Neighbor?” (offered at 3PM) and “What Would Jesus Do?” (offered at 7PM). The events will be held at Central Presbyterian Church, 1404 North Boulevard, Anderson, SC 29621. For more event information, go to Anderson School of Theology for Laypersons website at http://astlonline.org/. Want to know more about Barbara Brown Taylor? Go to www.barbarabrowntaylor.com. LAST LISTENING SESSION will be February 22. This s a great way to get all of the facts for the GA221 Amendments vote. All are welcome to this event, but if you missed yesterday’s meeting and you will be attending the March Presbytery meeting, please plan to attend the FINAL Listening Session on February 22 at First Presbyterian, Lancaster. The 2014 (221st) General Assembly of the PC(USA) approved and sent amendments to the constitution of the church to all the presbyteries for their vote. A bulletin insert including GA221 amendments at http://www.pcusa.org/site_media/media/uploads/oga/pdf/assembly-in-brief-readableorder.pdf. (a packet including the complete documents was sent to your church this week.) In order to assist teaching and ruling elders in making an informed vote, the Advisory Committee on Constitutional Amendments is offering two gatherings prior to the March presbytery meeting to discuss the amendments and answer any questions you may have. The second and final LISTENING SESSION will be: Sunday, February22, 3-5pm at First Presbyterian Church in Lancaster. Please make sure your delegates to the March 19 Presbytery Meeting are advised of this event. "Shall We Leave or Shall We Stay?" this was the question Jeremiah addresses (chapter 37) by buying his emigrating cousin's property, based on what God has promised. Read more about Middle East Christians' answer to that same question. Register NOW Diana Butler Bass NEXT Church Conference in Charlotte. Change is hard. Change is inevitable. We see change everywhere- in our daily lives, in the mirror, in the pews, and in our faith. We rarely like change -- we fear and resist change as humans and as a Church. But change is not always bad. It can be a catalyst to an awakening and rebirth. We celebrate the stories of change in our own lives --our awakenings, and our own transformations. Scripture even discusses this- “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” John 12:15—We all have a story about change--- What’s yours? Join us April 24 and 25 at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Charlotte as we explore change in our own stories with Diana Butler Bass and talk about how change affects us, the church, and Christianity. NEXT Church is about engaging the church that is becoming by cultivating connections, celebrating innovation, and working with congregations. Cost is $50 per participant. Click here to register: www.bitly.com/ NEXTMidAtlantic2015 New Standard Mileage Rates announced by the Internal Revenue Service. The Internal Revenue Service today issued the 2015 optional standard mileage rates used to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical or moving purposes. Beginning on Jan. 1, 2015, the standard mileage rates for the use of a car, van, pickup or panel truck will be:57.5 cents per mile for business miles driven, up from 56 cents in 2014; 23 cents per mile driven for medical or moving purposes, down half a cent from 2014; and 14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations. Ministers and Educators Forum TOMORROW (1/27) Bring a bag lunch and join us for the Minister and Educator Forum entitled “Reclaiming the Middle in an Increasingly Polarized Church” led by Mark Tidsworth of Pinnacle Leadership Associates (www.pinnaclelead.com). The workshop will be held TOMORROW, January 27th from 10AM– to 1PM at the Presbytery Office. Email Inez at [email protected] or phone her at 803-328-6269 to let us know you are coming. Stewardship Kaleidoscope to be held March 9-11 in Kansas City. Join us for this exciting annual “Invest in Faith.” Workshop tracks are as follows Small Congregations, Planned Giving/Endowments, Theology of Stewardship, Presbyteries and Stewardship, and Stewardship in Practice. Cost of the conference is $240 for registrations prior to February 16 ($265 after 2/16). Find out more online at http:// stewardshipkaleidoscope.org. Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary in Columbia, SC invites you to the following events. Lecture by Rolf Jacobson on Friday, February 6, 1– 2PM at Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary, Columbia, SC in Stavros Hall. Rolf Jacobson’s signature combination of humor, enthusiasm and biblical scholarship have made him an in-demand speaker and author. His popular credits include Crazy Talk: A Not-So-Stuffy Dictionary of Theological Terms and Crazy Book: A Not-So-Stuffy Dictionary of Biblical Terms. Jacobson is an associate professor of Old Testament at Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN. Check out his preaching podcasts on "Sermon Brainwaive.". Registration is not required but space is limited so register online here. If any seats remain available on the day of the event guests may register at the door.; AND Lecture by Scott Bader-Saye entitled “Guns, Violence, and Fear: A Theological Response to the Idolatry of Security" to be held Thursday, March 26, 1:00 – 2:00 pm at Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary, Columbia, SC. Dr. Bader-Saye is a professor of Christian ethics and moral theology at Seminary of the Southwest in Austin, TX. His publications include Following Jesus in a Culture of Fear and Church and Israel After Christendom, and his professional interests include politics, economics, sex, culture, and interfaith dialogue. This lecture is free and open to the public; however, seating is limited. Please register in advance by clicking here in order to receive a guaranteed seat. If any seats remain available on the day of the event guests may register at the door. The S.C. Lay School of Theology will be held April 17 – 19 at Presbyterian College. The school has two tracks. The Lay Pastor (LP) Track is for ruling elders who would like to become eligible for lay preaching. The Lay Enrichment (LE) Track is for any Presbyterian who wishes to learn more about theology, polity, Bible, Church History, etc. Registration materials will be ready in March. For more information or to get on the mailing list, contact Janis K. Blocker, registrar, at [email protected] or [email protected]. Gillette Offers New Hymns for Coming Weeks. Carolyn Gillette has written an new hymn for February 1st/Epiphany 4B entitled “Christ, in Capernaum” (sung to the tune of Praise Ye the Lord, the Almighty). Carolyn completed this hymn on Saturday based on the Mark 1:21-28, Jesus healing of the man with the unclean spirit. She has also written hymns specifically for Souper Bowl Sunday, Ash Wednesday and Lent. See all of her hymns sorted by topics and calendar placement at http://www.carolynshymns.com/index.html AROUND THE PRESBYTERY Hinson Girls Bluegrass Gospel concert next Saturday night Jan 31 at 6:00 pm. At Covenant Church in Rock Hill with Chili and cornbread at 5 pm. while it lasts! A love offering will be taken up for the girls Charlotte Children’s Choir to perform at Unity. The Charlotte Children’s Choir will present a concert in the sanctuary of Unity Presbyterian Church in Fort Mill on Sunday, February 8th, at 4:00 p.m. The choir is under the direction of Dr. Heather Potter and is very active in Charlotte and the surrounding area. They have performed at Carnegie Hall, with the Charlotte Symphony (most recently at The Magic of Christmas), as well as internationally. The group performing at Unity will consist of approximately 60 singers, from elementary through middle school age. There is no charge for the concert and it is a real privilege to host them in our church. Please mark your calendar and plan to attend. Love to Craft? Bethelwoods has a new program for everyone interested in crafting! Now meeting the second Tuesday of the month from 10:00am - 1:00pm. Each month we will have a craft centered devotion, a craft you will be proud to take home and lunch. Child care will be provided for mom's of young children. This event is $15 per person.. Please call 803-366-3722 to register now! Upcoming dates are February 10, and March 10, 2015. Kids Night Out at Bethelwoods is January 30, 2015. Make plans now for an early Valentine's dinner, or night out after you drop off your children at KNO at Bethelwoods. Cost is $15 per person and $12.50 for siblings. You can sign up for this event online, and if you register for 4 or more KNO events you will get an even bigger discount! That is hard to beat for child care from 5:30pm - 10:00pm including dinner! First quarter dates are January 30, February 27, and March 27, 2015. We can't wait to see you at Bethelwoods! Affirmation of York County is a people in faith communities who seek support and understanding for ourselves and others in working through the issues confronted by gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people, their families and their friends. We invite others in our faith communities to support us by praying for us, our children and our communities, telling others about us and working with us to provide compassionate care. Meetings are held at Grace Presbyterian Church, 2955 SC Hwy 160, Fort Mill on the second Tuesday of each month from 7-8:30 pm. Upcoming meetings will be on Feb. 10 and March 10. For more information, call Ellen at 803-417-0954 or Melissa at 803-547-6042. COMING SOON Check out the events below on the Presbytery Calendar--for event details, click on the event! 1/26 Presbyterian Women’s Coordinating Team Moderator’s Home 6PM 1/27 Minister and Educator Forum Presbytery Office 10AM-1PM 1/30 Kid’s Night Out Bethelwoods 5:30-10PM 1/30-31 Bethelwoods Ministry Team Retreat Bethelwoods 6PM-1:30PM (Lunch Saturday) 2/5 Committee on Ministry Presbytery Office 5:30PM 2/8 Worship 4 YOUth Bethelwoods 5-7PM 2/10 Administrative Ministry Team Presbytery Office 5:30PM 2/12 Coordinating Team (with supper) Presbytery Office 5:30PM 2/19 Educator Gathering Presbytery Office 12:30-2PM 2/22 Constitutional Amendments Listening Session Lancaster First Presbyterian 3-5PM 2/27 Kid’s Night Out Bethelwoods 5:30-10PM Please submit articles to [email protected] with In the Know and the date you would like your article to run in the subject line by Friday at 5 PM for the following Monday’s issue. Click to unsubscribe